The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

Description: This workshop will teach attendees about five different verbal behavior developmental cusps (generalized imitation, listener literacy, auditory matching, observational learning, naming) necessary to access a variety of contingencies in school and in life. The instructors will present assessment and intervention procedures (Greer & Ross, 2008; Greer & Speckman, 2009), sources of reinforcement, and appropriate candidates for these interventions. Skill and next steps once the cusps/capabilities are acquired will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, the participant will be able to: (1) detail vocally how to probe for and induce five cusps/capabilities; (2) role play and run errorless instruction (probe and intervention); (3) list the change in the source of reinforcement once each cusp is induced; (4) describe a candidate for each intervention; (5) describe how they can teach the child differently once each cusp is induced.

Activities: Workshop objectives will be met through a balanced presentation of lecture, guided practice, video observation, and group discussion. Core content will be taught through lecture and video demonstrations of strategies will be provided. Supplemental materials will be provided in order to support participant learning.

Audience: The target audience for this workshop includes BACB certificants and licensed psychologists, behavior analysts, (BCaBAs, BCBAs, BCBA-Ds), speech therapists, supervisors, or paraprofessionals who are working with children with and without disabilities. Please note, participants should be well-versed in the vocabulary of the science of behavior, including basic verbal operants, probes, and trials.